Jan. 28, 2013

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Senate Bill 9: Facts and next steps

• The bill would authorize public school boards to decide whether to allow an employee to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds, if the employee holds a valid concealed carry permit. The Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990 currently bars this. • Democrats in the the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed indefinitely the bill with a 3-2 party-line vote on Monday, making it unlikely to make its way out of committee this legislative session.

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A Colorado Senate committee on Monday voted down a bill authorizing public school boards to allow a permit-holding employee to carry a concealed weapon on school grounds.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to postpone Senate Bill 9 on a 3-2 party line vote with three Democratic senators opposed. Bills voted down in committee are not typically resurrected in the same year, and Republicans lamented that Monday’s debate is unlikely to make it to the Senate floor.

Emotions flared during hours-long testimony, as community members and politicians debated the responsibility of holding a gun and protecting the lives of others; self-defense versus crime deterrence; and whether more guns would enhanced security at a time when school safety is at the forefront of public discourse. Many referenced the mass school shootings at Sandy Hook, Columbine and Virginia Tech.

Those who testified in favor of the bill, including three children and Poudre School District board member Patrick Albright, were the majority.

“I love my students. I would do anything for them. I would take a bullet for them,” said Greeley teacher Bethany Christiansen, adding, “We are sitting ducks right now.”

The Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990 bars civilians from carrying guns in school buildings or on school grounds. The Republican-sponsored proposal wouldn’t require educators to carry a concealed weapon, but would allow school boards to decide whether and how to implement the law.

“This is the kind of bill that can make our schools safer,” bill sponsor Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said during testimony, reading a letter from Ken Stanton, a teacher at Colorado Early Colleges in Fort Collins. In that same letter, Stanton described his “great friend,” a man who died in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

Opponents believe teachers would need at least as much training as a law-enforcement officer and questioned what would happen should a child be potentially “caught in a crossfire,” of an armed teacher and an assailant.

State educators, represented by the Colorado Association of Education, “resoundingly rejected” the notion that allowing concealed weapons in schools was the “most effective” means to enhance safety, according to preliminary survey results shared by association lobbyist Karen Wick.

“It’s time for common sense, and the answer isn’t more guns,” said Jane Grote of the League of Women Voters. It’s about banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, she said, as proposed by President Barack Obama and largely supported by Democrats.